Plenty Of Job Openings In US Labor Market, But Workers Continue To Leave In Droves

Despite the number of job openings in January being higher than the number of unemployed Americans, workers are still quitting in droves as the "Great Resignation" shows no signs of slowing down.

On Wednesday, the Bureau of Labor Statistics found that for January “the number of job openings was little changed at 11.3 million.” Total hires and separations were also little changed “at 6.5 million and 6.1 million,” respectively.

Just counting separations, “the quits rate decreased to 2.8%,” but that still leaves many Americans continuing to quit their jobs, with 4.3 million quitting in January. A news release from the Department of Labor released Thursday found that for the week ending on March 5, jobless claims totaled 227,000, which is “an increase of 11,000 from the previous week's revised level.”

For a comparison, “there were 722,180 initial claims in the comparable week in 2021,” confirming the number of jobless claims has dropped significantly. However, that does not mean the great resignation will meet its end ‌soon.

With 11.3 million job openings but 4.3 million people quitting in January, and 6.1 million total separations, the data shows people are still hesitant to go back to work. A Pew Research survey released Wednesday found that low pay (63%), lack of advancement opportunities (63%), and “feeling disrespected at work” (57%) were all major reasons people quit en masse in 2021.

“When asked separately whether their reason for quitting a job were related to the coronavirus outbreak, 31% say they were,” the survey showed.

However, a majority of those who quit in 2021 and did not retire say they found another job, and “see their current work situation as an improvement of their most recent job.” Fewer found little to no improvement when switching jobs.